Synopsis: The obsession in both the popular and academic press about Japan, Japanese firms and their management practices lasted until the 1990s, after which there has been an inexplicable absence of curiosity. I argue here that there is still much to learn, not only from their contemporary activity, but from their historical actions. Less developed countries, in particular, can benefit from a careful study of the Meiji era, during which Japan built up the structure, institutions and organizations that underlay its economic success for much of the 20th century, and was a blueprint for many Asian success stories. The Meiji period was crucial in building up of Japan’s location advantages, and the rapidity of the reforms in this period underlined much of its subsequent growth. I also argue that despite Japan’s economic stagnation since the 1990s, its firms have not been stationary. There has been considerable evolution in the management and structure of Japanese firms and its innovation system. Such developments represent a useful preview of challenges ahead for the more advanced emerging economies such as China and India, as well as newer advanced economies, such as Korea.

By Tetsuya Usui, “Dynamic marketing capabilities for emerging market development: Lessons from Japanese multinationals”

Synopsis: The major MNCs from developed nations such as Japan, the United States, and Western Europe have been struggling with establishing and maintaining competitive advantages in emerging markets (i.e., China in the 1990s, Southeast Asia in the 2000s, and Africa in the 2010s). This is expected to continue to be the most critical global marketing issue unless our globe turns entirely flat. Those MNCs from developed nations need to pursue economies of scale by transferring and exploiting home-based resources and standardizing marketing strategy. They also need to respond to each emerging market condition by simultaneously adapting its strategy. However, they face more difficulties in utilizing their home-based, firm-specific advantages (FSAs) for value creation when they enter emerging markets, as a wider institutional gap exists in these cases. In this special essay, as an international marketing scholar, I will share with you some significant lessons drawn from Japanese MNCs that demonstrate how they are able to surmount these difficulties in emerging market developments by utilizing their home-based resource bundle. Of course, these strategies did not succeed right away.

We hope you find the essays interesting and share them with your colleagues. If you have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With kind regards,

Dr. Tamiko Kasahara

Editorial member of Japan MNE Insights